Marketing - Independent Study

1-3 credits.

The "Special Studies in Marketing" course is designed to give capable students in marketing an opportunity to complete independent study under faculty supervision. Prerequisites include : COB 300, GPA of 2.80, recommendation of the instructor and approval by the director prior to registration. Students may be enrolled in other courses at JMU and still work part-time at an organization to earn 3 hours of MKTG 490. But there are very specific criteria for getting approval and moving through this course:  

Students must meet the following requirements prior to enrolling in MKTG 490:

• a cumulative GPA of 2.8 or higher.
• Identify a work experience with a set of specific marketing tasks for which you will be responsible. Only on rare occasions will a faculty or staff member at JMU approach a student with an independent study opportunity. The vast majority of independent studies must be found and developed by the students themselves, in conjunction with the immediate supervisor at the organization where the student will be working.
• Identify in writing the immediate supervisor of your independent study work experience.  This person will oversee your work on site throughout the semester.
• Identify a faculty member who is willing to work with you throughout the semester and serve as your independent study advisor. It is the student's responsibility to seek out a marketing professor. Faculty are not required to serve as advisors. They may not be able to work with you for many reasons -- administrative duties, current course work load, being on semester leave, already serving as advisor to other students, etc.
• Submit the Independent Study Approval Form to the Marketing Department Chair in order to obtain permission to enroll in this course. This form must be signed by the faculty member who will be supervising your study.  
• Summarize (in 2 - 3 paragraphs) the scope of the project comprising your semester independent study and attach this summary to your application form. (Details of the project will be fine-tuned as you proceed through the semester.) Examples of projects include
  • developing a survey for vendors or company customers;
  • developing a promotional campaign for a company event;
  • comparing a new promotional campaign to an existing one;
  • creating a marketing plan for an event, product, or service;
  • developing a web site to meet certain business objectives.

Students doing an independent study must document their progress throughout the semester by doing the following:

• Develop a plan for accomplishing the specific marketing tasks comprising your independent study experience.
• Meet regularly throughout the semester with your faculty advisor who is overseeing your progress. 
• Submit a written report to your faculty advisor (and usually to your client too) at the end of the semester, which details your work at the organization.